The Strength Of The Heart
by HighFlyer0603
Summary: When Naruto returns 13 years after her birth everything will change forever. Konoha's hero will change so many lives and touch even more. When Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki's around life is never boring! Gaara x Femnaru Rated M just in case
1. Chapter 1

The strength of the heart

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Naruto belongs to the legendary Masashi Kishimoto. I only own the plot idea.**

**Enjoy people =D.**

Prologue - 13 years ago to the day

**(Forest outside of Konoha)**

"Goodbye. Goodbye my child, my sweet little Naruto!" The fourth Hokage whispered as the Shinigami slowly drained his soul. "I am so sorry my princess; please forgive me, both me and your mother love you very much!" The Yondaime reached out and grasped his wives hand tightly as tears flowed freely down both of their blood stained faces. "It was an honour to know you…Minato." Gamabunta said in a voice full of sadness. Minato and his wife took one long last glance at their baby girl before their eyes shut, never to open again.

The baby started crying and wailing as the seal on her stomach glowed. The boss toad Gamabunta gave one last wistful sigh and addressed his last words to the last living Namikaze who was currently wailing from her position on his head. "Someday we will meet again princess and when that day comes; us toads will protect you with our lives," before disappearing in a puff of smoke due to chakra exhaustion.

The bodies of Minato and Kushina, and their wailing baby began to fall rapidly through the air. Jiraiya the toad sage, the Sandaime and his Anbu guards burst through the trees just in time to see the Yondaime and his family hurtling towards the ground. The Sandaime and the Anbu were almost paralysed in shock and fear for the family rapidly approaching the ground. Whereas Jiraiya ran faster than her ever had before and dived to catch the baby girl just before she hit the ground.

The toad sage cradled the new born in his arms, silently willing her to stop crying as tears streamed down his face. The Sandaime slowly approached the corpses lying with their hands tightly intertwined and almost peaceful expressions on their blood stained faces. He sighed. "I suppose I have to take up the mantle of Hokage again then. Oh Minato, Kushina, you sacrificed yourselves for the village. What will happen to your daughter now?" Suddenly there was a shriek of surprise and Sarutobi spun around just in time to see white light explode from the body of the baby girl. The three Anbu moved as if to protect the third Hokage, but he waved them off and all five of them watched as the light shot into every corner of the sky.

**Back in the village**

There were bodies strewn across the ground. In every direction the villagers and shinobi looked they could see the corpses, hundreds of them with people lying over them, crying brokenly at the sight of their loved ones still faces. Suddenly everything was bathed in a white light and if they listened closely enough, they could hear a light chime-like laugh. Much to everyone's surprise and joy, the moment the light vanished there was something noticeably different about the corpses surrounding them…they all had a heartbeat. Slowly the once dead people of Konoha sat up and opened their eyes. There was a great cry of joy from all of the villagers and shinobi as they realised that the white light had brought everyone back to life…however they did not know at that moment that had actually brought back everyone but their beloved Hokage and his wife.

**Forest outside Konoha**

Sarutobi and Jiraiya looked down when they heard a light tinkly laugh and found themselves looking into the most beautiful pair of eyes they'd ever seen. They were such a vibrant blue, like the sea when the sun is beating down on it and the waves are rough. They were burning with such happiness that only an innocent baby could have.

Both Jiraiya and Sarutobi fell in love with her instantly. "This is her Sarutobi-sensei, I can feel it! The prophecy child, she's finally here!" Jiraiya exclaimed, his eyes never leaving the child in his arms. "I do believe you're right Jiraiya, it's just a shame Minato and Kushina won't be able to see her grow. We will just have to raise her well and become her family, what do you say Jiraiya?" Sarutobi replied with a hint of hope in his voice. "Of course, to me she is already a part of my family! I will protect Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki, my goddaughter, with my life!" He said, his voice full of determination. Sarutobi smiled at him and nodded, "hai, me too!"

With a final glance towards the corpses of Minato and Kushina and a silent promise to protect Naruto and raise her to the best of their abilities, they turned and began their trek back to the village, with heavy hearts and a tiny bundle of hope sleeping peacefully in the toad sage's arms.

**2 hours later (in the Hokage's office)**

Sarutobi looked down at the little sleeping miracle in his arms. She had wisps of bright blonde hair, and tan skin, she was such a beautiful baby that she could be compared to an angel and it wouldn't be much of an exaggeration. She was sleeping soundly and emitting light snore-like noises. It was hard to believe just by looking at her that only two hours ago the innocent new born had brought over a thousand villagers and shinobi back to life.

**Flashback**

The Sandaime Hokage and Jiraiya ran back into the village as fast as they possibly could, flanked by the three tense Anbu guards. They knew that the next few hours would be extremely difficult and it would be made even more difficult by the news of the Hokage's death. "MASTER JIRAIYA! MASTER JIRAIYA! HOKAGE-SAMA! HOKAGE- SAMA!" One of the villagers shouted as he ran towards them. "Master Jiraiya! Hokage-sama! There was this white light that covered everything and when it vanished all the injured people were healed and all of our dead were brought back to life!" Jiraiya and Sarutobi gaped at him, eyes wide and then stared in shock at the sleeping baby in Jiraiya's arms. "OH! Hokage-sama it was the Yondaime wasn't it? He saved us all once again! He truly is Konoha's hero!" It was then that the villager noticed the sad and shocked looks on the men's faces, he then realised that the Yondaime was not with them. He looked around him in panic and then back at the Sandaime. "Hokage-sama, Where is the Yondaime?" Both men slowly lifted their gazes from the baby in Jiraiya's arms, and the villager gasped at their sorrow filled expressions. Sarutobi then uttered four words which would ruin the happiness that had built up in the people of Konoha since the revival of their loved ones. "The Yondaime is dead."

**Flashback end**

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed as he stared at the Yondaime's daughter. 'So that's what the light white did then kiddo, well your father always said you were going to be special, even when he'd only just found out that your mother was pregnant. He'd be happy to know that he was right.' Sarutobi looked out of the window at the village of Konoha; he could see so many people with varying expressions on their faces. Some were still crying with happiness that their loved ones were alive and had no idea that the Yondaime was dead whereas others were crying at the loss of their great leader and his wife. Yet others were also confused as to what had caused the revival of over a thousand shinobi and villagers.

A hand on his shoulder brought him out of his musing. "It's strange to think that a new born baby, only a few hours old, saved so many. I wonder how she did it." Jiraiya said with obvious curiosity on his face, which quickly turned to concern as he looked at the sleeping baby. "What are you going to do sensei? I know that powerful light had nothing to do with the Kyuubi and even the stupidest of the council members will be able to figure that out soon enough." The Sandaime looked at him with a puzzled expression on his face. "Everyone knows that the Kyuubi would never do anything to help us. If Danzou or the old farts find out about the prophecy or her abilities then they will do everything in their power to have her confined to Konoha and they will put her in Root! I won't ever let my goddaughter become an emotionless tool! I'd rather die first!" Jiraiya's face was bright red with anger now. Hiruzen looked at him, rather shocked at Jiraiya's words.

Sarutobi had not considered that outcome, although he probably should have thought of it sooner. He viewed the new born as his granddaughter even though she was only a few hours old and he too would rather die than let her become an emotionless Root tool. Suddenly he had an idea. "Ok, so neither of us wants her to become the villages weapon right?" Jiraiya nodded at him, not really getting where this was going. "Well surely the best way to stop that from happening is to get her out of the village? Jiraiya I'm giving you a mission. It's going to last 13 years to the day. You will become Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki's sensei and father figure, with the help of others of your choosing you are to train Naruto to the best of your abilities, and keep her safe. On the day of the genin graduation exam, you are both to return. By that time I will hopefully have come up with a suitable plan to keep her safe from the councils clutches permanently. Do you accept your mission?" Jiraiya looked shocked for a moment and then began to nod franticly "Well good, you will have to both leave tonight so that the council have no way of stopping you from leaving." With that they began to plan the specifics of the mission.

**A couple of hours later (Outside of the Hokage tower)**

Most of the people of the village stood assembled waiting anxiously for the Sandaime Hokage to appear to tell them what was going on. Suddenly in a puff of smoke, he stood before them with a grim expression on his face and a beautiful baby wrapped in an orange blanket in his arms. The council stood behind him with varying expressions on their faces although they all wanted to know what was going on, with one long look at the people stood before him Sarutobi began to speak "People of Konoha, I bring to you sad news. Two people were not saved by the white light that you have all described and sadly I must inform you that these two people were none other than the Yondaime Hokage: Minato Namikaze and his wife Kushina Uzumaki." There were gasps of shock from the crowd; they had not been expecting this.

Sarutobi held up his hand as an indication that he had not finished. "The white light that saved you all was not in fact the Yondaime or a miracle as some of you believe. It was in fact the Yondaime's new born daughter Naruto that created the white light that saved you all." With that he held up the baby in his arms, presenting her to the crowd, they could all see that she was only a few hours old. Sarutobi continued after a moment or two with a sigh. "The last thing I have to inform you about is that the Yondaime was not actually able to kill the nine tailed fox. He was forced to seal it inside a new born baby; his own daughter in fact. So yes his daughter, the village hero at a ripe old age of 6 hours old is the nine tailed fox jailer; a jinchuuriki." This was met with a cry of outrage from the crowd who were beginning to whisper things amongst themselves. "Without this little hero you would all be dead so be grateful and don't say that she is the Kyuubi or I will have you executed for she is not! She is the jailor, nothing more, nothing less!"

With that said he turned around, hugged the baby girl and whispered in her ear, "goodbye my Naruto, my sweet little granddaughter, I will see you again in thirteen years." He kissed her forehead tenderly and gave her one last long look and then handed her to the waiting Jiraiya. "Take care of her Jiraiya!" Jiraiya nodded and then smiled slightly at the baby girl. "Of course sensei, you know I can already tell that she's going to be a boy magnet. See you in thirteen years old man." With that Jiraiya waved and disappeared in a flash of light and sound. Sarutobi looked at the stunned crowd who had not heard the exchange before also disappearing.

Jiraiya took one last fond look at the gates of Konoha before he turned around walked towards the forest. "Someday we'll be return Naruto and when we do I will teach you all about boys and then laugh and tease you when you get your first boyfriend. Well after I've made a few death threats, after all what kind of father doesn't give his daughter's boyfriend a few death threats every now and then. Hey maybe I should get Tsunade to help me out…yeah that's a good idea, you will love Tsunade kid, I promise." The toad sage was rambling to Naruto about his old teammates and all their exploits as well as all the places he had visited whilst on his travels as they crossed the forest border and disappeared from sight.

**Thirteen years later**

**When she was 3 she could beat any of the five Kages in single combat.**

**When she was 5 she could destroy any of the hidden villages single handedly.**

**When she was 7 she could defeat all 5 Kages single handedly; 5 vs. 1.**

**When she was 9 she could destroy all villages combined with just 1 jutsu.**

**When she was 11 she could destroy the world with ease.**

**Now at the age of 13…no one knows, and no one's really sure they want to find out.**

**(A/N- **Yeah so this is the prologue to my Femnaru story 'The strength of the heart'. I'm sorry if it's a bit confusing, this is my first fanfic so I'm still trying to get my head around the whole thing. If you read this, would you mind giving me a review, just to give me some criticism and ways to improve please? Thank you very much if you've read this, chapter 1 should be uploaded in a few days**). =D**

**This is HighFlyer0603 over and out**

**Ja ne =)**


	2. Chapter 2

The Strength Of The Heart

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Naruto belongs to the legendary Masashi Kishimoto. I only own the plot idea.**

**Before I go any further I would like to thank my first reviewer ever. Freedom fighter 831: Thank you very much for the awesome review, the comments were very kind of you and I'm glad you like it. I hope you like this chapter as well =D this one's for you.**

'Thoughts'

"Speech"

'**Kyuubi talking"**

**Enjoy people =D**

Chapter 1 – 13 years since the Kyuubi attack

**(Path to Konoha)**

Jiraiya looked fondly at the blonde girl running ahead of him. So much had changed in thirteen years, for a lot of people. Naruto seemed to be able to change everyone she met. She was truly like a daughter to him and to Tsunade as well. Naruto had had many senseis over the last thirteen years and all of them had taught her everything they knew. Tsunade and Shizune-nee chan as Naruto called her would be arriving in Konoha later that day to celebrate Naruto's genin promotion (they were adamant that she was going to pass).

None of them had entered Konoha in thirteen years, the only communication they had had with Konoha was via letters and the occasional visits from the Hokage to wherever they were staying. Tsunade would still be refusing to go home if Naruto hadn't healed her and changed her mind, the girl was truly a miracle. Jiraiya was very nervous as to how the people of Konoha would react to Naruto; the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. The Sandaime was certain that the people only viewed her as their hero but Jiraiya wasn't so sure, it was an obvious fact that all the villagers and shinobi hated the Kyuubi and they could be pretty dense sometimes. Jiraiya just wasn't sure whether or not they would view her as the Kyuubi or whether they would actually see that she was just the jailer of the demon.

The toad sage was snapped out of his musing by the excited voice of the innocent blonde. "Hey hey tou-san I see the tower you told me about. It looks so cool! Look look tou-san there's the gate! We're here! We're home!" Her eyes still sparkled with the same innocence they had when she was a new born baby, even though she had seen many unspeakable horrors and knew many horrendous secrets, she was still that little baby inside, and Jiraiya wouldn't have it any other way. He looked up and surely enough there was the gates to Konoha just in front of them. He sighed. It was now or never! "Are you ready kid? We don't have to do this if you're not ready, we can wait." He asked, concerned about his adopted daughter. "Of course tou-san! I'm so so excited! I'm going to make you so proud tou-san I promise!" She shouted in an excited voice, smiling that beautiful smile of hers that seemed to light up the entire area. Jiraiya patted her head with a fond smile on his face.

He suddenly remembered something he'd told her as they'd walked down this very path exactly thirteen years ago. "Hey Naruto I can teach you all about boys now that we're back!" He beamed just thinking about all the things he would do to her future boyfriends. "Me and Tsunade are going to have such fun in the future, maybe she'll even stop using me as a target in favour of your future boyfriends hey? Don't worry kid me, Tsunade, snake-teme and the old man will protect you from the mean boys. No one would ever dare go up against Tsunade and her fists!" He teased as Naruto went bright red. "TOU-SAN!" Naruto shouted and then she pouted cutely. Jiraiya laughed loudly and ruffled her hair, "come on lets go see the old man." He said as he took her hand before leading her through the gates of Konoha.

**Hokage's office**

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at his desk looking out of the window at his village much in the same way he had thirteen years ago as he was informing the old farts and the war hawk that they would quite frankly not be using Naruto as a weapon as she was under the protection of one of the Sannin and no longer in the village. Needless to say Danzou; the old war hawk, had been furious and demanded the immediate return of Naruto to the village, so that she could be put in Root and trained to be Konoha's strongest weapon. Sarutobi had quite literally informed him that he could stick his demands where the sun doesn't shine.

The Sandaime sighed, he was nervous. It had been thirteen years and Danzou was still after the girl. The elders had backed off considerably over the years as they were beginning to believe that maybe she should be allowed a few years of childhood when she returned. Sarutobi had been shocked to say the least when Koharu and Homura had informed him that on the day she returned, she would be under their protection as well until she reached the age of eighteen so as to let her have a few years of just being a teenager or childhood as they called it. Danzou was furious about that to say the least and Sarutobi knew that the girl was going to need Anbu protection from him when she returned.

Hiruzen ran his hands across his face. "I'm getting too old for all of this," he muttered to himself. There was only one good thing that was going to come of this situation. He would get to see his beloved adopted granddaughter every day and he would get to see her grow into a beautiful young lady. Not that she was actually very lady-like mind you, Sarutobi blamed Jiraiya for that, how could anyone growing up around someone like Jiraiya become an elegant young lady, they couldn't actually, it was impossible. Sarutobi just hoped that the toad sage hadn't made her into a pervert as well.

To be honest, the villager's reaction to the fact that Konoha's hero wasn't going to be around for thirteen years had been kind of comforting too. That was how he knew that the villagers wouldn't treat Naruto badly because of the Kyuubi when she returned, they had practically forgotten about the Kyuubi's existence and only saw her as Naruto Namikaze, the village's hero. He smiled to himself as he remembered the villager's outrage.

**Flashback**

There was a knock on the door of the Third Hokage's office and before he could tell whoever it was to enter, the door flew open and lots of villagers and shinobi alike burst into his office. They all began to talk at once and Sarutobi couldn't understand a single word they said. He began to get frustrated after a few minutes if them talking over each other and slammed his fist down on his desk to get them to shut up. "WILL SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHY YOU LOT HAVE RUSHED INTO MY OFFICE IN SUCH A RUDE WAY?" He shouted. Several villagers cowered in fear, and the clan heads from the Uchiha, Hyuuga, Inuzuka, Nara, Akimichi, Yamanaka and Aburame clans stepped forward as well as his son Asuma. They all bowed to the Hokage as a sign of respect before Fugaku Uchiha spoke, "Hokage-sama we are all here to enquire about the whereabouts of Naruto Namikaze, and us clan heads are all here to ask if we may adopt her as well. Personally I believe she should be adopted into the Uchiha clan due to my close friendship with her father as well as the fact that we Uchiha's have the strongest clan members and one of the best Kekkei Genkai's in Konoha." The other clan heads all looked outraged at the last part of the Uchiha heads statement.

Sarutobi chuckled slightly, drawing many confused looks from the clan heads, the villagers and the shinobi who had assembled in his office. He looked out of the window towards the forest and then back at them. "Even I do not know the exact location of Naruto's whereabouts; she could be anywhere right now." He said almost laughing at the puzzled expressions on his people's faces. He noticed however that Shikaku Nara did not look quite as confused. Hiruzen let out a sigh before continuing. "The new born Namikaze has left the village with Jiraiya of the Sannin, she will return in thirteen years to take the genin examination. As for adopting her, well that won't be necessary although it is kind of you all to offer such a thing." Everyone looked shocked at that information and it appeared that Fugaku was about to ask another question, but the Sandaime wasn't finished just yet.

He lifted up his hand as a signal to wait before asking questions and then continued. "Jiraiya is not without his flaws, but I know that he will be a great adoptive father to Naruto. I know it is too much to ask of you all, but when Naruto returns, I may need your help to protect her from her true father's enemies and those in Konoha who wish to make a weapon of her. I also understand that there may be those of you who will hate her for the demon which she keeps at bay simply by living, but she has done nothing to deserve your hate. When she comes back I want her to be able to live happily and care free, as a child should." He looked at all of the people in his office one by one and saw the shocked looks on their faces before they seemed to snap out of it and make their decisions. He was then bombarded by the sound of their voices as they told him their decisions.

"I will protect her with my life!"

"You can count on us Hokage-sama!"

"When Naruto comes back in thirteen years, we will make sure she is happy and cared for!"

"Hn, how troublesome, ah well, my clan will protect her with everything we have as well."

"I'm sure she will be a great friend for my Chouji when she returns, I wonder if she will love Ramen like her mother and father!"

"The Uchiha clan will protect her also, it is the least we can do."

"The little pup will be cared for even if our dogs have to tear half the villagers to shreds to make it happen!"

Sarutobi smiled as he heard more and more of their voices join in. 'Someday Naruto, someday you will get to see the care these people are willing to show for you. I just hope I live long enough to see that day.' He thought as he listened to the people of Konoha's pledges.

**Flashback ends**

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled fondly at the picture of Naruto and him on her 8th birthday that he had on his desk. He had taken her to get ramen from one of the vendors in the town her and Jiraiya had been staying in at the time. The picture had been taken by Jiraiya as she was happily slurping up the ramen with a bright smile on her face, his arm around her shoulders and his Hokage hat on her bright blonde head. Sarutobi sighed and looked at the clock, Jiraiya was late as always. He was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of loud voices coming from outside his office door.

"SIR YOU CAN'T JUST BARGE IN THERE!"

"RELAX LADY! I'M MEANT TO BE HERE TODAY, SO WHAT IF I'M A LITTLE BIT LATE! I'M JIRAIYA THE TOAD SAGE, I CAN BE LATE EVERY NOW AND THEN!"

"TOU-SAN SHUT UP! YOUR LATE MOST OF THE TIME! HEY TOU-SAN MAYBE SHE JUST DOESN'T RECOGNISE YOU!"

"SHUT UP BRAT! NO ONE HAS EVER FORGOTTEN THE FACE OF JIRAIYA THE TOAD SAGE!"

"OF COURSE NOT! YOUR FACE IS TOO UGLY TO FORGET!"

"SHUT UP BRAT BEFORE I GET MA ON YOU!"

"YOU WOULDN'T DARE!"

"OH YES I WOULD BRAT! OUCH! WHY'D YOU HAVE TO STAND ON MY FOOT?"

"You deserved it."

The door flew open and in came a man with an unforgettable face. "Hey, long time no see sensei, you miss me?" He said with a smile as he leaned against the doorframe. Sarutobi looked up and then scowled in annoyance at his tardiness, he was about to tell him that there are some things you just can't be late for, no matter who you were, when there was a snort from behind Jiraiya. "Pah! Who would ever miss your ugly old mug tou-san?" Sarutobi gasped as a younger, very short, female version of the Fourth Hokage stepped out from the toad sage's shadow.

Her spiky shoulder length bright blonde hair fell in exactly the same way her fathers had before his death. Her vibrant blue eyes that shone like the sea when the sun was setting on the horizon were focused on him as she smiled happily at him. He watched as her nose crinkled and laughter lines appeared on the edges of her eyes as she smiled. Her features were a lot more defined than the last time he saw her on her eighth birthday and she looked even more like her late father than she had when she was eight. Her eyes still held that same innocence they had had when she was a baby and she still had that strange obsession with the colours orange and blue. She was wearing an orange fighting kimono with a blue sash and trim as well as the standard blue shinobi sandals. She had white bandages wrapped around her right thigh and a kunai pouch attached to them, the Sandaime could see she also had a white weapons pouch attached to her right hip, Naruto was also wearing one light blue glove and one bright orange glove with hand guards on them both. Sarutobi could just about see that she had one gravity seal on each ankle and had several very small seals on her left forearm that he didn't recognise.

Having finished his assessment of the young girl, and having determined that she was very fit and healthy; he stood up and moved to stand in front of his desk. He then held his arms open for a hug. She beamed, the smile lighting her face up even more, and lunged across the office from the doorway at an amazing speed and flew into his arms, almost knocking him down with the force at which she hit him. What shocked him was not how tightly she hugged him, but the fact that she had crossed his large office from the doorway to the desk in less than a second.

He hugged her back tightly and sniffed at her hair, smelling her familiar scent of trees, the sea and vanilla. It was an odd combination, but it was a comforting smell, to him it smelt like home. "OJI-CHAN! I'VE MISSED YOU SO SO MUCH! HEY HEY OJI-CHAN I'VE LEARNT SOOOOO MUCH AND I CAN EVEN DO FATHERS HIRAISHIN NO JUTSU! I LEARNT IT WHEN I WAS TEN AND YOU MISSED IT! YOU MISSED THE DAY I MASTERED IT! You have to make it up to me by buying me ramen, lots and lots of ramen!" Naruto exclaimed in her characteristically over-excited voice as she pulled back just enough to look him in the eyes and pout.

Jiraiya scoffed loudly from the doorway, pointedly reminding the Hokage and his adopted daughter/goddaughter of his presence as he ambled across the room to sit on the window seat. "That's hardly fair sensei." He chastised while shaking a finger at the Sandaime. "She gets a tight caring hug while all I get is a scowl and what would have been a scolding if the brat here hadn't interrupted with one of her stupid comments as usual, favouritism much?" Jiraiya sulked as he turned to face the window, refusing to look at them, folded his arms across his chest and pouted like a little child. "Aw don't worry tou-san. I'm sure oji-chan wouldn't mind giving you a hug too." Naruto said in an innocent tone and then snickered as Jiraiya turned to glare at her. "Kid, I am a man, sensei is a man, and men don't hug. Nuh uh never!" Naruto burst out laughing.

"You're a man? Seriously I don't think so."

"Shut it gaki or I'll force you to read my newest book!" Jiraiya snarled. Naruto had a talent unlike any person he had ever met before for riling him up, sure she was as annoying as hell sometimes, but he loved her, she truly was a daughter to him. Naruto turned her nose up at the mention of Jiraiya's books, and Sarutobi laughed. 'Thank god. He actually hasn't managed to turn her into a pervert and she doesn't even like his books. Ha ha that's rich!' He thought with a satisfied smirk on his wrinkled old face. He was happy though, he could clearly see how much they loved each other and the true father-daughter relationship they had.

He cleared his throat and they turned to look at him. "As entertaining as this conversation is, Naruto you need to hurry over to the academy or you'll be too late to take the exam. Just tell Iruka-sensei that the Hokage apologises profusely for your lateness, but he blames it completely on your perverted father." Naruto laughed and then smiled broadly at him as she turned to run out of the office. "Good luck Naruto." Naruto span on her heels to give him a thumbs up and a sparkly smile. "Good luck brat, not that you'll need it, go on, go and make me and the old man proud." Jiraiya said smiling happily. Naruto gave them both one last wave and a smile before disappearing.

The Third Hokage returned to his chair and took a moment to completely analyse Jiraiya. He hadn't changed much, in appearance nor personality. He still wore his signature green, red and white clothes, his long white hair still hung in a loose ponytail at the back of his head, he still had his red tear track tattoos and that annoying cheeky smile. Suddenly it seemed as if there was a different man stood in front of the Hokage as Jiraiya stood up from the window seat and moved to stand in front of the Sandaime's desk. He bowed to Sarutobi before saying in a serious voice, "I Jiraiya of the Sannin am here to report on my mission Hokage-sama. My thirteen yearlong mission pertaining the care, training and safety of Namikaze Naruto was a success. Here in my hand is the extremely long mission report pertaining said mission. Namikaze Naruto is home, finally and I will continue to protect and care for her as a father would until the day I die, that is a lifelong promise." Jiraiya handed Sarutobi the report and his signature smile crossed his face. "Now if you'll excuse me sensei, I need to go do some research, I've been unable to do much research over the last few years due to a certain meddling brat. Ja ne." Jiraiya waved and then disappeared in a flash of light and sound.

Sarutobi sighed and glared at the thick folder that the toad sage had just given him. 'Ah well I really do want to know what my little Naru is capable of.' He thought as he opened it and began reading.

**Mission report – Care, training and safety of Namikaze Naruto**

**Length of mission: 13 years**

**Notes on Namikaze Naruto: **

**Kyuubi Jinchuuriki – Has complete control over the Kyuubi and is even friends with him.**

**Kind, bubbly, imaginative child who smiles a lot.**

**Prodigy in every sense of the word.**

**Has a weird talent, she has the ability to change anyone she meets even after just one conversation.**

**Extreme prankster (very good at it too, my advice is to be very careful not to annoy her; you won't like what she will do to you).**

**Extremely intelligent. (IQ 500+)**

**Makes friends easily.**

**Very easy going and positive.**

**Has acquired quite a few people who she considers family and who would do anything for her (they are her precious people).**

**Loves ramen just like her father and mother did.**

**Has her father's dedication and compassion.**

**Has her mother's temper when it comes to her precious people.**

**Sometimes gets lost under the heavy burden she carries.**

**Family (in everything but blood):**

**Jiraiya – Godfather and adoptive father.**

**Tsunade – Godmother and adoptive mother.**

**Shizune – Adoptive sister.**

**Orochimaru – Uncle (in Naruto's and Orochimaru eyes alone, be cautious, he may have an ulterior motive for caring about Naruto).**

**Hiruzen Sarutobi – Adoptive grandfather**

**Nine bijuu's – Brothers and sisters **

**Chiyo – Grandmama**

**Ebizo – Grandpapa**

**Status:**

**Nine tailed fox jinchuuriki. Has telepathic connection to all nine bijuu – calls them all nii-san or nee-chan. Extra caution needed towards the Akatsuki as the Juubi (i.e. the end goal of Akatsuki) cannot be created without Naruto there to channel all nine bijuu through her body at the same time.**

**Abilities:**

**Ninjutsu: SS **

**Genjutsu: A**

**Taijutsu: SS**

**Kenjutsu: S**

**Accuracy, aim: S**

**Strategy: SS**

**Seduction (trained by Jiraiya of the Sannin): A**

**All other kunoichi skills: F – Terrible**

**Demon jutsu: SS**

**Magic (a unique talent, no idea why or how she has it): SSS**

**Spying: SS**

**Interrogation: A**

**Assassination: S**

**Medical: SS**

**Puppets: SS**

**Doujutsu (also has a unique Doujutsu): SS **

**SSSSS ranked shinobi!**

**Reputation: Is known by many as the Flying Red Dove. She is greatly feared and admired. Although Naruto hates killing and pain, she will kill if necessary. Naruto Namikaze is more powerful than all the shinobi in this world combined X 10. She will only get more powerful over time, and she has no confidence whatsoever in her talents or abilities. Confidence needs work, but when protecting her precious people, Naruto becomes stronger than anyone could ever imagine.**

**Senseis:**

**Jiraiya - 13 years**

**Bijuu's - 13 years**

**Tsunade – 10 years**

**Shizune – 10 years**

**Orochimaru – 1 year (Naruto disappeared for one year on the day after her 9****th**** birthday, the only communication we had was through letters sent via the toads, turns out she was being trained by Orochimaru)**

**Momochi Zabuza – 4 years**

**Haku (Zabuza's pupil/right hand man) – 4 years**

**Chiyo – 8 years**

**Ebizo – 8 years**

**Uchiha Itachi (Akatsuki) – 5 years**

**Konan (Akatsuki) – 5 years**

**Deidara (Akatsuki) – 5 years (Naruto trained under all 3 Akatsuki members against my will, but I was powerless to stop her, none of them have made any attempt to harm or kill her throughout the past 5 years though, we should still be cautious though).**

**Additional important notes pertaining Naruto's senseis:**

**Naruto knows the truth of the Uchiha massacre and has been given a mission by Itachi to get rid of the darkness from Sasuke's heart and to become his friend. When the time is right, Itachi will return to tell his mother and brother the truth about that day. It is of utmost important that this is allowed to happen.**

**Naruto's unique Doujutsu:**

**Naruto has a Doujutsu called the ultimate eye. When it is activated it has all the properties of the Byakugan and the Sharingan combined as well as a few unique traits. Naruto actually has the Byakugan as well, but it is unknown as to how she got it and it seems that Naruto's Byakugan is a lot more advanced than Konoha's Hyuuga clan Byakugan. When Naruto has the ultimate eye activated she can:**

**See the future**

**Read people's minds exactly without use of chakra or a jutsu**

**See people's innermost memories**

**See what people are feeling **

**Telepathically communicate with anyone**

**See the past**

**Freeze time**

**Create certain weather patterns**

**Influence a person's decisions**

**Erase memories**

**Become invisible**

**Naruto also has many other unique talents that I have seen and many that I do not know about and even some that she doesn't know about herself yet. It is of the utmost importance that Naruto is protected, as someday she could become the saviour of us all. Also all information in this report is to be kept secret from EVERYONE except the Hokage and even then the Hokage may only see it if they are trustworthy and truly care about Konoha. **

**When she was 3 she could beat any of the five Kages in single combat.**

**When she was 5 she could destroy any of the hidden villages single handedly.**

**When she was 7 she could defeat all 5 Kages single handedly; 5 vs. 1.**

**When she was 9 she could destroy all villages combined with just 1 jutsu.**

**When she was 11 she could destroy the world with ease.**

**Now at the age of 13, well I have no idea and to be honest I'm too scared to even try to find out.**

Sarutobi gaped at the report in his hands. He knew that his granddaughter would be strong, but he had no idea that it would be anything like this. The Sandaime suddenly noticed a little green piece of paper attached to the back of the folder. Hiruzen read it aloud to himself. "Oh yeah sensei if your shocked now, just wait till this afternoon when you will see just how much Naruto can change people. Let's just say that we're bringing some old friends home with us, but they're going to take a bit longer to get here as a certain old hag has lost her pig again." Sarutobi gaped and then looked out of the window again as he thought 'I wonder who they're bringing home with them, ah well at least we can easily say that life with Namikaze Naruto will never be boring.'

**So there is chapter 1, what do you people think? Please review. I've also had a few new plot ideas and I'm considering making this a sasunaru and then a bit of gaanaru when Sasuke clears off to be emo and then back to sasunaru when Sasuke comes home and acts all possessive. What do you people think of that idea? Please tell me your opinion on that too? Also I know Naruto is crazy powerful, but that's the point in this story, the story won't work the way I want it to If she isn't like insanely powerful so I'm sorry if people don't like that, but that's how this stories going to be.**

**Anyway thanks to whoever took the time to read all of this, you are my new favourite people =D. I hope you enjoyed the new chapter and that you will read the next one when I write it. I have big things planned for this story. =D**

**This is HighFlyer0603 over and out.**

**Ja ne =D. **


	3. Chapter 3

The Strength Of The Heart

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Naruto belongs to the legendary Masashi Kishimoto. I only own the plot idea. AU universe sort of.**

**I'd also like to thank my awesome reviewers; you've made me very happy with your nice reviews and your opinions and criticism is very helpful too. I'd also like to say this is definitely staying a gaanaru, thanks to two of my awesomely awesome reviewers I now have some new plot ideas, so thank you timoteii and Lady Lazy =D. I would also like to thank my silent readers, you're all awesome. =D**

**Oh yeah, I know some people have issues with how strong Naruto is and I completely understand, I also get that I mucked up the time skip summary too because I didn't literally mean that she could consciously beat a Kage at 3, I meant that she had the power within her to do it but she couldn't have used her power then, she just had it within her body. I'm sorry if this doesn't make much sense. Secondly there is another reason that Naruto is as strong as she is but Jiraiya didn't want someone to steal the report and find out about it as it would put Naruto in even more danger so he didn't put it in the report. The reason will actually be revealed in this chapter; all I will say now though is that Naruto isn't completely human due to something that happened when she was born. Also Naruto has the power that is mentioned in the report within her body, but she cannot use it as it would probably destroy her body, most of her power is actually sealed away using the weird seals mentioned in the last chapter on her left arm. Naruto only has the ability to consciously use about a quarter or less of her power and her Kekkei Genkai. I hope this clears up any issues and if you still don't like something then please tell me and I'll sort it =D.**

**I hope you like this chapter. =D**

'Thoughts'

"Speech"

'**Kyuubi talking"**

**Oh yeah by the way Naruto is 13 and the rest of rookie 9 is fourteen.**

**Enjoy people =D**

Chapter 2 – The day the genin hopefuls met the Flying Red Dove

(**The ninja academy classroom 208)**

Iruka Umino stood in front of his class of academy students and paced anxiously in front of the blackboard. His class was getting louder and louder as they argued over some stupid little thing, but he hardly noticed. Iruka glanced at the clock again and paced faster. 'Where is she?' he thought. Over the years Naruto had become like a little sister to him, as he had gone with the Hokage when he visited her and Jiraiya. The Sandaime had thought that it was a good idea for Iruka to get to know Naruto for when she and the toad sage returned to Konoha so that she would have another person to turn to and because he would be her sensei if only for a little while. Iruka had not actually seen her since her eighth birthday, but they had kept in contact over the last five years via the toads. Iruka knew that she was probably late because of the most perverted shinobi in the history of Konoha and that made him even madder, if Naruto missed out on her chance to become a genin because of that pervert and his freaky obsession with peeking on naked women then Iruka was going to kill him.

He was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of the classroom door slamming open. Everyone looked up to see a short, beautiful, and angelic blonde girl standing in the doorway with a bright smile on her face. The same thought went through all the minds of the boys in the room 'beautiful' and almost every girl in the class was instantly green with jealousy. Iruka smiled broadly at the girl as she flew across the room and gave him a tight hug as she shouted, "Iruka nii-san!" He hugged her back and then pulled away so that he could see how much she had changed. 'Wow' he thought, 'she really is very beautiful now, and wow she looks so much like her father that it's scary.'

Iruka and Naruto turned to face the now silent and curious class. "Class, this is Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki, she will be taking the genin exams with you today, please be kind as this is her first day in Konoha." Naruto waved and was about to say something to introduce herself properly when she was interrupted by a pink haired girl standing up from the back row with an angry expression on her face. "Iruka sensei, how can some she be expected to pass the genin exams on her first day in Konoha? It's taken all of us years to get ready for this, and some of us may not even pass, so how can you expect a newbie who knows nothing about being a ninja to pass with us?" Naruto laughed and then turned to look the pink haired girl straight in the eye. "Listen here pinky; I'm anything but a newbie to the world of ninjas ok? Just wait until after the exams before you judge me on my talents ok? Anyway my names Naruto and I'm sure we're all going to get along just fine, just don't insult my precious people and we'll be fine." Naruto smiled broadly at the class and then made her way over to the only available seat, which was one next to an onyx haired boy with black eyes who was sat there brooding. Naruto instantly dubbed him 'pretty boy'.

Naruto looked down at her arm and absentmindedly ran her fingers over the seals on her left forearm as Iruka began to explain the first part of the exam. The seals were of a type basically unknown due to them being in Konoha's forbidden scroll. Jiraiya and Naruto had deemed them necessary after the Kyuubi had told them about how much power Naruto truly had. The seals were practically unbreakable and sealed away about three quarters of her true power. Only Naruto, Jiraiya and a few other trusted people knew of the seals purpose and even fewer people knew of the true reason behind Naruto's power.

On the day of Naruto's birth, the Gods had sensed the coming of a shinobi who would have a unique Kekkei Genkai. They also knew that somewhere in the world there was a very powerful half-demon shinobi who wished to bring about the destruction of the world. The Gods did the only thing they could do to protect the world in the future as they could not intervene in the events that took place in the world they were destined to forever watch over. They blessed the new born baby who would have the unique Kekkei Genkai with some of their powers and thus made her part goddess and the most powerful shinobi to ever live. This was done with the intention that someday she could unlock her true powers and protect the world from the evil half-demon shinobi. Until that day however they knew that the humans would have to find a way to seal most of her powers away inside of her or they would destroy her before she could even fulfil her destiny. This was named the prophecy of the saviour child. The great toad sage had also foretold the coming of that specific day. Naruto also knew of her destiny and some days she could hardly cope with the heavy burden she carried. After all she was half-human and all humans feel some emotion.

Naruto looked up and began to listen properly to Irkua's explanation. "Ok the genin exam consists of two tests. The first test will be on accuracy and aim. You will have to throw 10 kunai and 10 shuriken at the practice dummy's in the academy training ground. The more bull's eyes you hit the better. The second test will be on Ninjutsu, you will have to perform three different jutsus accurately. If I think you've done well enough in both tests then you will pass and become a genin of Konoha." With that said Iruka turned around and strolled to the door. "Come on; let's go to the training ground now." The class followed him to the training the ground to begin the genin exam.

**Time skip. The results of the first test:**

Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki: 10/10 shuriken 10/10 kunai

Sasuke Uchiha: 10/10 shuriken 10/10 kunai

Hinata Hyuuga: 7/10 shuriken 9/10 kunai

Shino Aburame: 9/10 shuriken 9/10 kunai

Sakura Haruno: 5/10 shuriken 5/10 kunai

Kiba Inuzuka: 5/10 shuriken 6/10 kunai

Shikamaru Nara: 4/10 shuriken 4/10 kunai (hardly tried, thought it too troublesome)

Ino Yamanaka: 6/10 shuriken 7/10 kunai

Chouji Akimichi: 6/10 shuriken 6/10 kunai

**Second test:**

The whole class traipsed back to the classroom and sat in their seats. Naruto turned to the 'pretty boy' who sat brooding next to her. She stuck out her hand for him to shake. "I'm Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki, what's your name?" She said smiling brightly. Sasuke Uchiha or 'pretty boy' as she'd dubbed him looked at her curiously before sighing and deciding that he should at least try to make one friend besides she didn't seem so bad and she didn't fawn over him like all the other girls. He took her hand and shook it slightly. "I'm Sasuke Uchiha." He said in his trademark superior tone. Naruto smiled at him again. 'Ha ha it seems to kill him to even be slightly polite. I wonder whether that stick is always up his ass' she thought with a giggle. Iruka then came in and called the first student into the other room where he was doing the second exam and Sasuke went back to brooding. Over the next hour Naruto flitted around the room introducing herself to her classmates. She now had quite a few new friends. Pretty boy (Sasuke Uchiha), bug boy (Shino Aburame), the mouse (Hinata Hyuuga), forehead (Sakura Haruno), Ino-pig (Ino Yamanaka), lazy ass (Shikamaru Nara), the eater (Chouji Akimichi), and the dog lover (Kiba Inuzuka).

To Naruto's joy, all eight of her new friends passed and became genins. Then it was her turn. As Naruto was about to disappear into the next classroom, Kiba shouted, "GOOD LUCK NARU-CHAN!" Naruto smiled happily at him before entering the other classroom. All of her new friends sat on edge waiting for her to return. They were all hoping that she would pass. It was strange that they cared so much about a girl that they'd only just met, but none of them were complaining as she was a really nice girl. Shikamaru went back to sleeping, Chouji went back to eating, Sakura and Ino went back to arguing about who Sasuke loved and everyone else just went back to whatever they were doing beforehand as well.

A few minutes later the door burst open and Naruto came running into the room. "LOOK GUYS! I PASSED AS WELL WOO HOO! I'M A NINJA OF KONOHA NOW AS WELL AS ALL THE OTHER PLACES!" She shouted pointing at the hitai-ate bearing the leaf insignia that rested proudly on her forehead slightly covered by her bright blonde fringe. Her eight new friends looked up at her and smiled or smirked depending on who they were. Naruto sat down next to Sasuke again and closed her eyes smiling happily. Shikamaru frowned when he realised what she'd said. "Hang on Naruto; didn't u say all the other places?" He asked frowning slightly as he tried to figure it out.

Naruto opened her eyes and looked at him then smiled broadly as she pulled a scroll from the pouch at her waist. She skipped over to Shikamaru and Chouji's table and then stood by Shikamaru. She bit her thumb and then spread the blood over the complex seal on the scroll to open it. Naruto smiled at the curious Shikamaru as she spread it out on the table and tapped the middle of it 3 times before putting a drop of blood in the middle of the scroll. To Shikamaru's surprise the scroll flashed with a white light before disappearing to reveal numerous hitai-ates with different village symbols on them. "You're a ninja of all these villages?" He asked curiously. He knew that there was no other way for her to have all these hitai-ates if she wasn't a member of their villages. Everyone else looked over at them with a mixture of curiosity and shock on their faces. "Sure am," Naruto said with a smile. "I'm a member of every hidden village in this world of ours, well every one apart from the Sound village. I refuse to be a part of that damn place." She frowned ever so slightly at the end and then the smile was back up. Shikamaru was not as surprised as everyone else was but he did have one last question. "Why aren't you a member of the Sound village?"

"Let's just say that the Sound village is well not a very nice village, it's um its worse than Kirigakure was back in the time of the Fourth Mizukage. They keep trying to get me to join them but I won't as they only want the secrets of the other villages which I won't give to anyone; not even Konoha." Everyone was stunned into silence by that statement as it was well known how bad it was in Kirigakure in the time of the Fourth Mizukage. Kiba had opened his mouth to ask Naruto something when Iruka walked back into the room. Naruto sealed back up the hitai-ates in the scroll, put it in her hidden pocket and then returned to her seat as Iruka began congratulating everyone for passing. Iruka told them to come back at 10am the next day for team assignments and to meet their new sensei's before dismissing them.

Naruto waved goodbye to her newfound friends before running out the door at a normal genins pace so as to make them think she only had the same abilities as them. She stood in the playground and looked around for Jiraiya or the Sandaime or maybe even Tsunade, Shizune and the ever-escaping pig Tonton. She was too short to see over most of the adults (who were waiting for their children head's) so she gave up and spotting a swing underneath a tree on the other side of the playground she began to weave her way through the adults and the new genins to make her way to the tree.

As she weaved through the people she attracted many shocked stares and many people looked like they wanted to stop her so as to talk to her, but they managed to restrain themselves at the last minute. The guard at the gate told one of the shopkeepers that he had seen Jiraiya and a female look alike of the Fourth Hokage entering the village earlier that day. The shopkeeper had been quick to realise that it must be the Yondaime's daughter; the village hero back from her training trip. This had spread like wildfire and now practically everyone in the village knew that the young Namikaze girl was finally home. The adults stood outside the academy had been shocked to actually see the young heroine leaving the academy with her hitai-ate resting proudly on her forehead as they had thought that maybe it was just rumours, but here she was. They all wanted to approach her and thank her or maybe even just have a small conversation with the last Namikaze, but none had because they knew it was not the right time.

A certain Mikoto Uchiha was waiting for her son to leave the ninja academy when she saw a sight that she never thought she'd see. There was a girl who looked exactly like the late Minato Namikaze (her best friends husband), but who also held herself exactly how her late best friend, Kushina Uzumaki had when she was alive. Mikoto felt tears run down her face when she realised just who was crossing the playground. It was her. It was Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki her goddaughter. She was alive after all and all grown up into a beautiful girl. Maybe she had even gotten the countless letters Mikoto had given to the Hokage for her over the years. Mikoto felt like running over to Naruto, hugging her and never letting go, but she knew she had to restrain herself for now, however rest assured Mikoto Uchiha would meet her goddaughter and she would meet her very very soon. No matter how much she had to pester the Hokage, she **will** meet her goddaughter and that is final!

Naruto was uncomfortable with all the attention she was receiving, sure she knew that she'd saved them as a baby, but she couldn't help that. It had just happened, it was out of her control and they had no reason to be thankful to her. Naruto sighed heavily and sat down on the swing, she began to swing a bit as she waited for her adopted father to arrive. Damn him for being late, now she had to sit here and feel all these people staring at her. 'Great, just great! Why does all this stuff always happen to me?' She thought with a sigh.

**A/N Hiiiiii sorry I've taken so long to update, I don't really have an excuse I just haven't picked the computer and written anything quite simply. Sorry about that I will try to have the next chapter up in a few days, but I make no promises. So yeah anyway I know that Mikoto Uchiha dies in the original by Mr Kishimoto, but I decided that Itachi would leave both Sasuke and his mum alive. So yeah this is my story and it works best with Mrs Uchiha in it. I'm sorry about any issues in this, I'm not very good at writing stories, fanfic or not. Anyways please review and tell me what you think and give me some constructive criticism if you like. Criticism is welcome here, but only if it can help me improve. =D Anyway my readers are my new favourite people and they are awesome. Anyways I need a better word that anyways as I use it waaaayyyyyyy toooo much =D. Sorry about that. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. =D Till the next time people.**

**This is HighFlyer0603 over and out.**

**Ja ne =D**


	4. Chapter 4

The Strength Of The Heart

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Naruto belongs to the legendary Masashi Kishimoto. I only own the plot idea. AU universe**

**Thanks again to my reviewers, my silent readers and the people who have put my story on alert and/or made it one of their favourite stories. =D You're all legends! Um this is awkward but can someone explain to me what a Mary Sue is as I'm new at this and have no idea. Thanks if you can tell me. Anyway this is going to be quite a short chapter compared to the others today , sorry about that, but I hope to get the next one up soon as well =D. I hope my last chapter sorted out any issues people had with Naruto's strength. If anyone still has any issues then please tell me and I'll address them to the best of my abilities as long as it still would work with how I want this story to be. If anyone has any suggestions or has any requests of one-shots or stories they would like me to write then please just PM me or tell me in a review =D. Anyway enough of my rambling and on with the story! =D**

**I hope you like this chapter. =D**

'Thoughts'

"Speech"

'**Kyuubi/any other tailed beast talking"**

**Enjoy people =D**

Chapter 3 – I thought you said you'd never come back

"NARUTO! WHERE ARE YOU BRAT?"

"Naruto you were supposed to come to the Hokage's office after your exam so where are you?"

"BRAT WE'RE HERE AND I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS PLACE HAS ALL ITS GAMBLING SHOPS SHUT DOWN! IF THAT'S JIRAIYA'S FAULT THEM I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!"

"My lady, please stop charging at people, they might take offence, then you'll get in an argument and we won't ever find Naruto then."

"Oink!"

Naruto looked up at the sound of the familiar voices; she then began to laugh as she saw several people she knew very well trying to shove their way through the crowd of parents and children. Suddenly Jiraiya was flat on his face in front of the swing; he looked up at Naruto and gave her a guilty smile. "Your late tou-san," Naruto glared at him and then hopped off the swing and helped him up. "NARUTO!" Someone shrieked. Naruto spun on her heel only to see Tsunade and Shizune who was carrying Tonton charging towards her. "We finally caught the pig brat! Geez I hate this place, people are already staring at me and they are so god-damn annoying and just stand in my way!" Tsunade snarled. Shizune smiled at Naruto happily and Tonton oinked at her.

"BRAT YOU PASSED! See I told you that you would!" Tsunade shouted as she lunged at Naruto and tackled her into a hug "Ah Kaa-chan I can't breathe!" Naruto wailed as she tried to get her adoptive mother to loosen her grip. Tsunade smiled sheepishly at her, "Sorry Ru I got a bit over-excited there." She said as she stood up and then grasped Naruto's hand and pulled her up as well. Jiraiya laughed heartily at the sheepish expression on Tsunade's face, but quickly stopped when she punched him in the gut and sent him flying into a tree.

"Naruto? Oh there you are. What a relief I thought something had happened to you. Oh my, Jiraiya what happened? Did you upset-" Hiruzen Sarutobi finally managed to get through the crowd of people and began lecturing Jiraiya only to stop suddenly when he noticed the blonde woman who was still stood there with her fist clenched glaring at the toad sage. "Tsunade?" He asked in shock and then almost had a heart attack when his old student turned to look at him and smiled at him. "It's been a long time sensei, you've gotten old." She said and then began to laugh slightly. Jiraiya then made the mistake of opening his mouth, "you'd look old too if you didn't use that jutsu of yours!" He said while laughing. He instantly regretted it when Tsunade sent him flying into another tree with a powerful kick.

Naruto looked over at her adoptive grandfather with concern clouding her bright eyes. He was still frozen and staring at Tsunade as if he had just seen a ghost. Naruto walked over to him and laid a hand on his shoulder. She was about to ask him if he was ok when he asked something that set them all on edge. "I thought you said you weren't ever coming back?" Tsunade froze and then turned to him with a true smile on her face. "I did sensei, and I didn't think I would ever come back. However a little blonde brat changed my mind." She said and her smile widened slightly and her face softened as she remembered the day that Jiraiya turned up at her inn room door with a baby Naruto in his arms.

**Flashback**

There was a loud knocking on the door and Tsunade slammed her sake bottle down in anger. No one interrupts Tsunade Senju when she's drinking her beloved sake. Shizune was out shopping for food at the time so she couldn't answer the door as usual. Tsunade stomped to the door and threw it open only to be met with a sight she never thought she'd see and it was one she could probably do without. Jiraiya, her old teammate and friend was stood there with a big smile on his face and something cradled in his right arm. "What do you want?" Tsunade snarled at him.

"Well hello to you too Tsunade-hime, I was just in the neighbourhood and thought that now was as good a time as any for a reunion of old friends." He said his smile never slipping. However Tsunade knew Jiraiya well enough to know that the smile was fake. She could see a lot of pain in his eyes that he tried to hide from her and even though she could see pain she could also see genuine happiness too. Tsunade's heart went out to her old teammate, but today was the very same day her beloved Dan had died and she couldn't cope with seeing anyone other than Dan's niece Shizune and her pig Tonton at the moment.

With a guilty sigh she tried to slam the door shut on him, but he stuck his foot in the way. Tsunade looked up at him and gasped at the expression on his face, his eyes were full of tears and his face contorted with sadness and pain and the happiness in his eyes was only just visible now amongst the pain. He held whatever was cradled in his right arm tightly a minute ago, in both arms now and appeared to have such a tight grip on it that not even the Shinigami would be able to rip it from him. He looked down at it and a single tear dropped on to the bundle of what Tsunade could now see was a mixture of a blanket and one of Jiraiya's jackets. He then met her eyes and Tsunade was shocked to see tears rolling down his face. "Would you still turn me away if I told you that in my arms I hold an orphaned new born baby girl who is my goddaughter and who is now also my adopted daughter? Would you still turn me away if I told you that she is the Jinchuuriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox and that because of that the doctors wouldn't give a new born baby the medical examination that all babies need? Would you still turn me away even if I told you that she is the daughter of my student; the Fourth Hokage and his wife Kushina Uzumaki, and that they are both dead?" He said his voice shaking at the end. Jiraiya of the Sannin was more serious in that moment than Tsunade had ever seen him before.

The bundle in his arms began to stir and then Tsunade found herself staring into the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen. The baby had such bright ocean blue eyes that Tsunade swore they lit up the hallway outside of her inn room. The baby had little tufts of bright blonde hair and whisker marks that looked almost like scars on her cheeks. To Tsunade's surprise the beautiful baby smiled a truly angelic smile at her, and then she began to laugh happily. Jiraiya smiled through his tears at the laughing baby and Tsunade could clearly see the love on his face. She opened the door properly and then stepped aside to let him through. Once he was inside she turned to shut the door.

Suddenly the baby girl began to cry and Tsunade spun around and glared at Jiraiya who was trying to get her to stop crying. "Shh baby shh, its okay daddy's here shh." He cooed and it seemed to make the baby cry even more. Tsunade stormed towards him, took the baby from his arms and began to rock her. "What did you do?" Tsunade snarled, her mothering instincts resurfacing. Jiraiya looked scared at the sudden lack of baby in his arms, he tried to take the baby from Tsunade, but she stepped back. "What's her name Jiraiya?" Tsunade asked as she rocked the baby girl. Jiraiya sighed as he realised that he wasn't going to get his little girl back off Tsunade. "Her name is Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki and by the way, you're now her mother, well adoptive mother if you want to be technical." Tsunade looked up at him eyes wide and mouth hanging open. Then she smiled warmly at the now silent Naruto and let her hold her finger in her tiny hand.

"Tsunade I know that after Dan and Nawaki, you don't want to use your medical skills, but Naruto needs you. Please Tsunade, do it for your baby girl." Jiraiya pleaded and Tsunade looked up at him with her brow furrowed. She looked at him for a moment more and then looked down at her new daughter. Tsunade knew what could happen if a baby wasn't examined properly and as Jiraiya had just made her this baby's mother, she would not let someone she loved die again. Even though Tsunade had just met the baby, she could safely say that she loved the girl, she loved her as a mother would love her daughter. Having made her decision she looked up at Jiraiya, determination clear in her features and nodded. "I'll do it, she's my daughter now and I won't let her go unexamined! Jiraiya you have to tell me everything that's happened though, oh and while you're at it can you send one of your toads to Shizune to tell her to buy some milk and a baby bottle and other things a baby might need?" With that said she turned and walked to her bed and laid Naruto on the middle of it. Jiraiya nodded and then said "Thank you Tsunade-hime." He smiled at her and then sat down on Shizune's bed. "You better have a lot of time on your hands Tsunade because even though the last Namikaze is only 2 days old, the stories pretty long." She nodded at him and he began their story, well it was more Naruto's story, but oh well.

**Flashback end**

Sarutobi smiled sadly as he realised just how much Naruto meant to both Tsunade and Jiraiya. He knew that Danzou was still a problem; he just hoped that between the 3 of them (well 4 if you included Shizune) they could protect her. "Hey Shizune nee-chan can you make some of your special ramen for us for tea today please?" Naruto begged. Everyone laughed and Shizune nodded. "Woo hoo ramen! Hey oji-chan, can we live in papa's house please? I mean, if I'm his daughter then surely it's my house now, right?" Naruto asked quietly, her smile tinged with sadness. Sarutobi smiled sadly and nodded. He pulled a key from his pocket and placed it in her little hand. "I'm glad you asked Naruto, I was going to suggest it anyway." Naruto hugged him and held the key tightly in her hand. "Thank you oji-chan." She whispered. "Let's go," She shouted and then let the Hokage go and dragged him out of the academy gates. Tsunade looked at the crumpled form of Jiraiya, shrugged and then turned to follow her old sensei and her daughter. Shizune put Tonton down and then bent down and put one of Jiraiya's arms around her shoulders and her arm around his waist. She then followed after the others with Tonton at her heels.

Mikoto Uchiha smiled sadly at her goddaughters back as Naruto left the academy grounds dragging the Third Hokage with her. She had been happy to see how much Naruto resembled both Kushina and Minato personality wise; however she was saddened by the fact that she had yet to hold her goddaughter in her arms and tell her that she was to call her auntie Miki. Mikoto could wait however because she would see her soon enough, she would just have to be patient.

Mikoto turned around as she was tapped on the shoulder. She smiled as she saw the shiny new hitai-ate tied to her son's forehead. She hugged him happily and then pulled back and looked at him properly. He looked slightly happier than usual and his features were softer. "Well done son, you did great. Did something good happen to you today?" She asked as she smiled. Mikoto laughed as her son blushed slightly. "Thanks mum and uh no it was just a normal day." He looked away as he said it and a smile tugged at his lips. Mikoto continued to question him as they made their way back to the Uchiha compound. "Did you finally make a friend?" Sasuke sighed in defeat as he realised the only way to get his mother off of his back was to be honest. "Yes mum, I did."

"Really? That's great son!" Mikoto exclaimed smiling brightly at the fact that her socially awkward son finally made a friend. "So what's their name?" She questioned intent on getting all the details. "Her name is Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki, she only joined the academy today, but she was really good mum. She passed as well." Mikoto Uchiha froze in shock at this turn of events; it was strangely ironic how her best friend's daughter was friends with her son. "Is everything alright mum?" Sasuke asked concerned. "Oh yeah, I'm fine honey, I'm just happy you made a friend." She said smiling, ruffled his hair and then they continued walking home. 'I hope they become best friends too, that would be good for both of them' Mikoto thought with a happy smile.

**A/N Hi guys sorry for the long wait again, to be fair it wasn't as long as the last wait, but still I'm sorry. I hope this chapter is alright; it might actually not be shorter than the last update after all. Someone asked me for some more flashbacks so I added one in here, there will be more flashbacks in later chapters, but they will only appear at the right time. So look out for them. Anyway as usual please review and tell me what you think =D. As always constructive criticism is welcome, however I'm not the type to just accept people slagging me off so don't bother. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. =D Till the next time people.**

**This is HighFlyer0603 over and out.**

**Ja ne =D**


	5. Chapter 5

The Strength Of The Heart

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Naruto belongs to the legendary Masashi Kishimoto. I only own the plot idea. AU universe**

**Thanks again to my reviewers, my silent readers and the people who have put my story on alert and/or made it one of their favourite stories. =D You're all legends! If anyone has any issues then please tell me and I'll address them to the best of my abilities as long as it still would work with how I want this story to be. If anyone has any suggestions or has any requests of one-shots or stories they would like me to write then please just PM me or tell me in a review =D. This is a chapter from a different kind of viewpoint so sorry if it's confusing; I just wanted to try it out to give the story a new twist or kind of edge. I hope this is ok =D**

**I'm so sorry for the long wait; I kind of lost my muse and have only just found it again. My next chapter should be up quicker next time though and I hope this one will maybe make up for the long wait. =D**

**I hope you like this chapter. =D**

'Thoughts'

"Speech"

'**Kyuubi/any other tailed beast talking"**

**Enjoy people =D**

Chapter 4 – All is fair in love and war…wait WHAT?

(In a dark cave somewhere in Amegakure)

Konan was sitting staring sorrowfully at the flames of the fire whilst twiddling her long blue hair in her fingers when Itachi appeared behind her and tapped her on her shoulder making her jump. "So Konan what did he say? Is he going to abandon the plan or not?" He sounded so hopeful that when Konan looked into his black eyes she couldn't take it anymore. Tears began to slip down her face like a waterfall and Itachi's face fell. "Konan…what did he say?" he asked almost hesitantly. Konan couldn't control her tears now and she turned away from him and looked into the flames of the fire again. "He…uh…he…he won't stop now, I tried everything 'Tachi, but he won't listen to me!" Konan screamed and then began crying hysterically. "He's so so sure that he can find a way to extract the Nine Tails without killing her, but…but he can't Itachi! We both know he can't!" She buried her face in her hands and Itachi bent down and hugged her tightly. "Konan, he does know about the only way to create the Juubi…doesn't he?" When he was met with silence, he grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him and he saw the guilty and pained expression on her face.

Itachi was shocked and panicked. "If he doesn't know about it then she's in serious danger! Why didn't you tell him Konan?" He shouted, his voice gradually growing louder. "What are we going to do on the day he KILLS her! SHE WILL DIE KONAN AND IT WILL BE OUR FAULT!" Konan pulled away from him, stood up and then slapped him in the face. "How DARE you Itachi Uchiha! I know full well that if he doesn't know then she will die, but he won't listen. I try to tell him, but he just accuses me of not having faith in him! He's the only thing I have left Itachi, I can't lose him too!" She collapsed to the floor in floods of tears. Itachi looked at the crying woman in front of him forlornly and then suddenly snapped his head up when he heard a soft yet sad sigh. Nagato or 'leader-sama' was leaning against the wall of the cave a little way away from them. His vibrant red hair was illuminated by the light of the fire as he stared at Konan, his eyes full of hidden pain. He slowly edged across the cave and knelt next to Konan. "What haven't you told me Konan?" He asked as he pulled her into a hug. "I need to know Konan, is this about Naruto and the Nine Tails?" He looked at Itachi as he said this and Itachi sighed as he realised that Konan was in no position to tell Nagato anything. He looked into Nagato's eyes as he began to tell him of the connection between Naruto and the Juubi. Konan sat there still crying and hugged Nagato back tightly. As she sat there she remembered the day that she met Naruto.

**Flashback**

"Crap!" Konan thought as she ran through the trees. The sun had almost set and she was nowhere near the hideout. Not that she was afraid of the dark nor was she afraid of any of the bandits or rogue nins she could come across this close to the northern border of the wind country, however Nagato had wanted to talk to her about something important and she'd promised to be back by sunset so they could talk. 'Nagato is going to freak out!' The blue haired woman thought with a hint of annoyance, just imagining the lecture she would get when she returned late was enough for her to grit her teeth and snarl slightly. Sure she loved the man, but god, were his lectures annoying as hell!

Konan was about to send a message to Nagato via one of her dove summons, informing him of her impending lateness when a scream and the clash of metal against metal rang through the darkening forest. Konan sharply lifted her head and then jumped in surprise as another more childlike scream filled the forest. Her Akatsuki cloak fluttered in the wind as she vanished without a sound.

Konan's eyes widened in shock at what she saw before her as she materialised on the edge of an old farm in one of northernmost villages in Kaze. Illuminated by the setting sun the farm burned angrily, bits of debris flying from the house and surrounding barns every now and then, however this was not the shocking thing. A young girl who could only have been eight at the most was standing in a defensive position in front of a group of around 10 people which included a couple of children, however the fact that water flew from her fingers to create a shield around all 10 people, the house and the barns in order to stop the fire from spreading AND that she was doing this whilst swordfighting with several rogue nin WAS shocking. Konan gasped as she noticed that the girl was not even using chakra to create the shield.

Hearing the gasp, the child turned her head in her direction and Konan found herself looking into the brightest blue eyes she had ever seen, before the girl turned and attacked her opponents with a bit more ferocity. The blue haired female felt her maternal instincts flair as she watched the young child attack her opponents with grace and a strange calm that not even Konan had at that age in a 4 vs. 1 fight.

Before she even knew what she was doing, she had landed in front of the bright blonde, blue eyed child and was shouting, "Shikigami no Mai!" Suddenly paper flew from her arms and engulfed the four rogues, suffocating them. Konan turned to ask the child if she was alright and much to her surprise she found the girl dousing the fire with her 'magic water' whilst simultaneously asking the shaken people who lived and worked on the farm if they were okay.

After she had doused the flames, the rather short child turned and gave the open mouthed blue haired woman a large smile. "Thanks for helping me out lady that was good of you." She said as she walked towards Konan and held out her right hand. "I'm Naruto, who are you?" Konan managed to shake herself out of the daze induced by the shock of seeing water that could just appear out of the girls hand without the use of chakra or a jutsu. "I'm Konan, uh it's nice to meet you, and you're pretty skilled with a sword for a kid." She said finally remembering her manners and shook Naruto's hand with a small smile of her own. "If you don't mind me asking, how did you do that thing with the water?" Naruto smiled cheekily at this question and replied, "I'll tell you…if you teach me that awesome jutsu of yours."

**Flashback end**

The memory brought a ghost of a smile to Konan's face and she wondered if Naruto still had the origami flower she had given her at the end of their first exchange with a promise to teach her that jutsu and many more the next time they saw each other. Konan stared into the dying fire and thought fiercely 'I won't let him hurt you Naruto, I promise! I will protect you with my life if that's what it takes!'

**A/N I know this chapter is shorter than usual, but it had purpose. I hope it was good enough considering the long wait for me to find my muse again. Please review and tell me what you think, constructive criticism is always welcome, but remember my policy about slagging me off. IT IS NOT ACCEPTED! If you don't like my story then don't read it, but don't be mean because it's unnecessary. Anyways lecture over =D Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Till the next time people.**

**This is HighFlyer0603 over and out.**

**Ja ne =D**


	6. Chapter 6

The Strength Of The Heart

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Naruto belongs to the legendary Masashi Kishimoto. I only own the plot idea. AU universe**

**I just want to thank all my reviewers and readers once again, you guys are all pretty damn awesome =D The people who put this story on alert or put it in their favourites are also awesome… hang on so are the silent readers hmmm, let's just say anyone reading this is awesome and I want to thank you for reading my story. I especially want to thank bee for all the suggestions she gave me as they are really helpful and the compliments she gave were very kind of her, also thank you for taking the time to think about the future of my story and to give me suggestions that can make it the best it can be. **

**If anyone else has any suggestions or has any requests of one-shots or stories they would like me to write then please just PM me or tell me in a review =D. Anyways I'm very boring soooooo on with the story!**

**I hope you like this chapter. =D**

'Thoughts/talking back to the Kyuubi (Kurama) or any other tailed beast'

"Speech"

'**Kyuubi/any other tailed beast talking"**

_/Italics/ _- Memory from a point of time or view in the current chapter that wasn't in the current POV

**Enjoy people =D**

Chapter 5 – Oh man, he's in a lecturing mood again!

The rather dysfunctional group made their way through a concealed forest path on the outskirts of Konoha. Jiraiya was still only half there and nursing a terrible headache as both Naruto and Tsunade refused to get rid of it due to the fact that they both felt he deserved it. Naruto had her arm linked through Hiruzen's despite the fact that he insisted that "he was not that old and could quite easily walk through a forest on his own, thank you very much". Tonton was clutched tightly to Tsunade's chest so that he could not get away again and Shizune was planning what to put in her special celebratory ramen for Naruto tonight.

Eventually they reached a break in the trees and on the other side was a gate with an Uzumaki swirl combined with the Namikaze clan insignia in the centre. Sarutobi nudged Naruto forward and nodded at her in encouragement. She pulled the key that he had given her out of her pocket; it was a beautiful silver key with the same symbol that was on the gate embedded in the top of it. Naruto walked forward to the gate and frowned as she realised there wasn't a key hole. "Go on Naruto put it in the key hole, it's alright." The Hokage told her as he pointed at the symbol.

"Oji-chan, there isn't a key hole, what are you on about?" Naruto replied puzzled.

"Naruto how can't you see it, it's right in the middle?" Tsunade asked her, she was rather confused because Naruto had very good eyesight and it was in plain sight. Naruto looked at it again and still couldn't see a keyhole, she was about to ask her father what was going on when she heard a deep rumbling voice. **'There isn't a keyhole kit.'**

'Kurama, where have you been? You haven't talked to me at all today.' Naruto asked him her mind.

'**I was sleeping; Shukaku won't stop trying to enter here to talk to you so I have been using all of my energy to keep him out. His brat is going crazy again apparently; Shu seems to think you can help him. Well done on passing your exam by the way kit, I told you it would be fine.'**

'Thanks Rama, I guess I'll talk to Shu later. So what do you mean there isn't a keyhole?'

'**I mean exactly what I say kit, there is no keyhole.'**

'How come Kaa-chan and Oji-chan can see one then?'

'**It is an illusion placed by the last owner of this house, anyone who is not of the Namikaze line will see a keyhole.'**

'Papa put it there? Hang on; you're not a Namikaze, so how come you can't see a keyhole?'

'**Yes your…Papa put it there. I have the benefit of seeing things from your minds eye, due to being sealed within you so I see the gate the way you see it. If I tried hard enough then I would see it as I would see it if I was not sealed within you, however it would take a lot of effort and I am still tired.'**

'Ah okay, so if there isn't a keyhole then why is there a key? Does that mean that this is a blood seal gate then?'

'**The key is to help make the illusion believable, however the front door requires the key, but the key will only work even then if you are the one holding it. The key can sense the power signature of someone belonging to the Namikaze clan, so it will not recognise anyone else being as you are the last of the Namikazes. Yes it is a blood seal, sometimes kit I wish you were not so smart, for once I would like to be able to tell you about a seal without you already knowing about it!'**

'Ah that makes sense, I'm sorry Rama I learnt about seals from the very best so it wouldn't really be acceptable for me to not know a blood seal when I see one.'

'**Yeah yeah kit, I'm going to sleep again now, seeing as Shukaku has finally seen sense and decided that stopping his brat from using his power is more important than annoying me. I know you Naruto, do not worry about that brat, he will be ok. I will speak to you when I wake up kit.'**

'Okay thank you Rama, have a nice sleep.' Naruto said before letting him go to sleep. She shook herself out of her mind talk haze and faced the gate again. 'Please be alright Gaara.' She thought desperately to herself. A warm hand being placed on her shoulder made her jump and look up into her father's worried gaze. "Are you okay Ru?" He asked his voice full of concern. She nodded to him and pointed to her head in their silent sign for a conversation between her and Kurama. He nodded back and ruffled her hair. Naruto stepped forward and bit her thumb, then spread her blood over the centre of the Namikaze-Uzumaki symbol. Jiraiya looked confused for a second for a moment before the lock clicked and the gate swung open. "Hang on there was a keyhole there, why didn't you use the key?" Tsunade asked in confusion. Naruto shook her head and opened her mouth to respond when Jiraiya beat her to it. "There was no keyhole there was there?"

"No there wasn't. The keyhole you see is an illusion placed by my Papa, for anyone but a Namikaze to see. I cannot see the keyhole; I can only see that there is a blood seal there." Naruto turned to look at them all as she explained, they all nodded in understanding. "Well then let's go see our new home." She said and turned and entered the Namikaze-Uzumaki grounds. She looked around in awe at her Papas home.

In front of her surrounded by more trees was a beautiful two story house with a raised front right corner of the roof. There was a porch with a beautiful oak porch swing that was painted a dark red. There was a balcony off of the front of the house on the second floor as well as a balcony on the right side also on the second floor. On the left hand side of the house just visible through the trees was a lake overhung by a large willow tree. The house itself was a light mahogany and small compared to the house of the current Hokage and seemed cosy and the type of place a family would live in. There was a well-kept garden of flowers in front of the porch and several fruit trees on both sides of the house. The sun hit the house in such a way that in the light of the low sun, it appeared to be on fire. "Wow." Naruto breathed and walked towards the house. She did not notice that the others stayed outside in order to give her privacy to explore her late parents house by herself first.

Naruto reached the porch and ran her hand over the porch swing before walking to the front door. She noticed that it was the same colour as the porch swing and also had the Namikaze-Uzumaki symbol in the centre. With her keen eyes she realised that it was a blood seal as well, so she reopened the wound on her thumb and spread the blood across the symbol. It glowed slightly and Naruto took a deep breath before placing the key in lock and turning it. Both the seal and the key glowed slightly before the lock clicked. Naruto looked behind her for a moment at her father who nodded in encouragement, before turning back to face the house. She took one last deep calming breath before closing her eyes, turning the doorknob and pushing the door open with ease.

An hour later Tsunade was pacing back and forth in front of the house with a worried look on her face and a few feet away Jiraiya was doing exactly the same thing although the look on his face was a cross between fatherly worry and concern and wanting to run inside, grab Naruto, leave Konoha and never come back. It was a look that only a father faced with a situation that could mean his daughter was in pain could have. The third Hokage and Shizune were both watching him anxiously and finally he snapped. "SHE'S BEEN IN THERE AN HOUR! A WHOLE BLOODY HOUR! I KNEW SHE WOULD FIND IT EASIER IF SHE WENT IN ON HER OWN BUT… I'm worried. She knows everything I know about her parents, she's read letters written by them, one for every month that Kushina was pregnant and even one for the day she was born, but this will still be new to her. She never met them and yet she is going to see the nursery me, Kushina, Minato and Kakashi spent months making just right. She's going to see years of personal and everyday things just strewn around as if they were in there just yesterday. Yet at the same time she is going to see years of dust and rotten food. I don't know how she will cope, I'm worried about her." He sank to the floor and buried his face in his hands with a defeated sigh.

Tsunade huffed loudly and stomped over to him. "Look at me Jiraiya." He lifted his head slightly, just enough to look her in the eyes. Tsunade lunged forward, grabbed his shirt in both hands and shook him wildly. "PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER MAN! She's strong, in body, mind and spirit. You and I, we raised her to be strong. So PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER and show her that her father is EVERYTHING that he taught HER TO BE!" With that she threw him backwards onto the ground and walked towards the gate. She looked over her shoulder at him and called, "tell my daughter that I'll be back soon, I'm going searching for some decent sake. You're a good man Jiraiya and you've taught our kid to be the same, but now you just need to have faith in her strength to cope with things like this. I think it's safe to say that it will be the hardest thing you've ever had to do, as I know that you will always see her as your little girl however you will have to do it anyway for her sake as much as your own." Jiraiya stared at her in shock as he lay sprawled out on the ground.

"I…I should probably go with her, just to stop her getting so drunk and hurting people who will stare at the fact that the legendary Tsunade has returned to Konoha. Please tell my imouto that we will be back soon and that I will definitely be making _very_ special ramen tonight in celebration of her promotion into genin status." Shizune told him quickly before turning and rushing after Tsunade with Tonton at her heels. Hiruzen Sarutobi watched them leave and then sighed and held out a hand to Jiraiya to help him up. Both of their eyes flashed to the house when they saw the door open and Naruto walked out. They could see the tears running down her face as she smiled weakly at them and waved as she walked slowly towards them.

_/As Naruto explored her parents home she discovered that the first floor was open plan and consisted of a large and beautiful yet cosy kitchen that clearly had had a woman's touch, the counters were a light brown with mahogany wood on top. There was a large fridge at one end of the counters and a fancy oven at the other. In the middle of the kitchen was an island made of the same wood as the counters and had several red stools in front of it. Near the kitchen was a light oak square dining table with six chairs around it. The lounge had two red sofas and two armchairs surrounding a light brown fireplace with a television above it. There were several bookcases on the wall beside the fireplace that all contained normal books. There was a large window seat that was big enough for someone to lie in that had a view of the front garden. There were two rooms each about the same size of the left hand side of the ground floor; one was a bathroom with a toilet, sink, medicine cabinet and shower. The other was a closet with coats, bags and shoes on hangers and shelves in it. At the back of the house were two large glass sliding doors which led to the back garden. The stairs were a few feet from the front door and were also a dark red. _

_Naruto noticed that there were lots of pictures, antiques, various souvenirs and ancient weapons on the walls and shelves across the first floor. One picture however made her collapse to the floor at the bottom of the stairs sobbing. There on the wall next to the stairs directly in front of the door was a large canvas with her mother, father and her as a new born baby on it. It was clearly taken just a short time after her birth and the sheer amount of joy and love on both her parent's faces was too much for her to take. They were both holding her closely and half looking at the camera and half at her with huge smiles on their faces, eyes twinkling. The thing that struck Naruto the hardest was that only a few hours after this picture had been taken, they had died to save both her and the entire village. They were the only people who she hadn't been able to save._

_Naruto managed to calm herself and wiped her eyes. She took a deep breath and climbed the stairs. On the second floor there were four guest bedrooms upstairs that were painted pale blue, yellow, green and red. They each had a dresser, a king sized bed and a desk and chair. There were also shelves on one wall in each and an impressive view out of the window. There were two bathrooms with the same layout as the one downstairs as well. Naruto had tears running down her face once again when she entered the main bedroom. The walls were a vibrant red and the same colour as the sheets on the bed. It had mostly the same layout as the guest bedrooms except that the walls were covered in photos, weapons and scrolls. There were clothes strewn on the bed as well as Minato's Hokage hat. Naruto ran her hand across every inch of room and held the hat to her chest tightly before putting it back on the bed and leaving the room once again. _

_The last room on the second floor had an orange door with an Uzumaki spiral on it. Naruto gasped as she saw that it also had her name written in a pale blue underneath the spiral. She pushed the door closed behind her, looked around the room and then sank to the floor and cried once again. It was a nursery. The walls were a light green with large bright trees painted on them. There was a forest green cot against the back wall with a changing table of the same colour next to it. A light brown oak dresser rested against the right wall and a rocking chair sat by a large window on the left hand side. There was a large orange toy box in one corner and several stuffed animals in another. Other toys were strewn around the floor and a dolls house that was a replica of the actual house had pride of place in the middle of the floor. Naruto smiled softly as she imagined her parents working on this room together. She could almost hear her mama telling her papa that any child of hers absolutely had to have something orange in their room. She walked around the room touching everything once again before leaving and pulling the door shut behind her. _

_Naruto returned to her parent's room to think. She knew that she would not let anyone change or touch this room nor the nursery. They were too important to her to change. As she sat on their bed she noticed a symbol of Konoha that looked slightly odd. She walked over to it and ran her left hand over it. A slight nick in the wall cut her palm and blood dripped onto the symbol. Suddenly the part of the wall that the leaf was on vanished and Naruto was looking at a dark staircase. She took a step towards it and the wall reappeared behind her making her jump. Naruto sighed and began to climb the stairs carefully. _

_The wall opened in front of her when she reached the top of the stairs and she gasped. Two of the walls were covered in windows that had views of both the front and back gardens. The front windows had a large window seat made of a light blue material. There was a king sized bed against the back windows that had light blue sheets and carved mountains and lakes on the headboard. There was a large bookcase on the right wall that had various standard books, scrolls, jutsu scrolls, weapon scrolls and other books for various skills. Two beautiful tapestries covered the wall on either side of the bookcase. One had the image of the beautiful snow covered lands of the land of snow and the other had the symbols of all the countries and hidden villages of the elemental continent. Each symbol had a beautiful image that depicted something about that place. Naruto ran her hand over the sand that swirled around the symbol of Suna and smiled slightly. The left wall where the secret entrance was was covered in pictures of various people and places with space to add more, however where the entrance closed was covered in a tapestry of the hidden leaf village in all its glory. The walls of this room were a pale orange and the carpet covered floor was white with slight swirls on it that made it look like snow. On either side of the windows on each wall were pale blue curtains with white lining._

_Naruto was in awe of the pure beauty of this room. As she looked again around the room she noticed a bundle on the bed with what appeared to be an envelope on top. She picked up the envelope and frowned when she saw it had her name written on it in the same handwriting that she knew from reading letters belonged to her biological father. Naruto opened the envelope and saw that inside was a tear stained letter. She pulled it out and began to read it aloud._

"_My dearest Naruto,_

_It is a shame that when you read this I will be dead. There is so much I wish to say to you, my only daughter, however there isn't time. The Kyuubi is attacking and as Hokage it is my duty to die for my village. Your mother is already slipping away and I'm afraid that she may also die tonight. I want you to know my beautiful baby girl that we both love you very much. I know you will see this one day and I hope you will understand why I am not there to be a part of your life. I know that as you read this you are now a beautiful and strong young lady who will make both your mother and I very proud. _

_This room you are standing in was to be your bedroom once you got too large for the nursery. I hope you like it my child. I want you to have something of mine, well actually everything that was mine is yours, but with this letter I have placed one of my two specially made Hokage cloaks (made by your mother of course) and my tri-pronged kunai. I want you to have these Naruto so that I can be with you every day of your life. _

_I have to go now baby girl, you, your mother and the village need me. So I guess this is goodbye, I will always be with you child, I'm not going away. Naruto do your old man a favour and find someone who can love you the way I do, so that your old man can find some peace of mind and not annoy the hell out of your mother even in the afterlife._

_I love you more than anything baby girl, be strong and brave, but most of all be happy._

_Your Father, Minato Namikaze, AKA the proudest dad in the world."_

_Naruto had tears dripping down her face as she read her father's parting words. She wiped her eyes and placed the letter back on the bed. Once she had gained a bit of her composure she unravelled the bundle and lifted out the cloak. She held it in front of her and gasped. She had only seen this cloak in pictures and she knew that it was the only one left as her papa had died with the other one on. It was also made by her mama which made it even more special. It was white with red flames along the bottom of the cloak and the short sleeves. It also had red kanji for 4__th__ Hokage on the back. Naruto hugged it to her chest and then slipped it on. She reached her hand into the bundle and pulled out a large specially made white kunai pouch with a red Namikaze-Uzumaki symbol on the front. Naruto opened it and saw it was full of tri-pronged kunai with red handles. She pulled a bandage out of her weapons pouch and wrapped it around her left thigh, then attached her father's kunai pouch to it. _

_Naruto picked up the bundle and was about to incinerate it when a square piece of paper fell from the bundle. Naruto destroyed the bundle and then picked up the paper._

'_On the bookcase there is a book labelled 'clans of Konoha' turn to page 50 where the clan symbol of the Namikaze is and get a drop of blood on the symbol. Trust me. Oh and please destroy this after reading it._

_Your Father'_

_Naruto raised an eyebrow, but still did as the note said. She put the book back in its place on the shelf and waited for something to happen. Suddenly the bookcase swung outwards like a door. Naruto stepped past it and found herself in a study. The walls were white with various symbols, seals, weapons and scrolls covering them. There was no window apart from a large skylight on the roof and the floor was made of a light coloured wood. There were various scrolls just lying around on the floor and on the small sofa and arm chair in one corner of the room. Bookcases lined the walls and a large desk sat in the one space against the wall that didn't have a bookcase in it. The desk was a light mahogany and the comfy chair in front of it was the same colour. On the desk were a notepad and pen, a pen holder, various scrolls and drawings of seals and a picture of a young Minato and Kushina. Naruto looked around the room one last time before deciding to go and find her family that had stayed outside./_

Jiraiya ran and hugged Naruto tightly before telling her what Tsunade and Shizune had wanted her to know. Sarutobi stood back and watched the father daughter moment with a fond smile on his face before he drew a pocket watch from his robe and scowled at the time. "I'm very sorry Jiraiya, Ru-chan I have to go now as there is some paperwork that needs to be done before the team placements tomorrow. Shizune invited me round for dinner tomorrow so I will see you then." Naruto ran to hug him and then waved as he walked out of the gates. "Hey tou-san can you come and look at the back garden with me? It's the one place I haven't looked at yet." She asked Jiraiya as he came to stand next to her. "Sure squirt." He said as he ruffled her hair.

They made their way through the house to stand on the mahogany decking outside the back door. The back garden consisted of a large amount of grass surrounded by trees with several paths leading into various points in the trees. There was also a fruit and vegetable garden that had all but rotted away over the last thirteen years. Naruto looked at it and then at Jiraiya who nodded with a smile, she then made her way over to the edge of the patch. Naruto knelt and placed both hands on the edge of the patch and closed her eyes. Suddenly the wind seemed to pick up and both the patch and her hands glowed slightly with a white light. The wind stopped after a few seconds, the light disappeared and left in its place was a completely revitalised fruit and vegetable patch complete with ripe fruit and veg. Naruto stood up and turned to face Jiraiya with a beautiful smile on her face. He smiled back proudly. Naruto thought for a second and then vanished. Jiraiya stood there for a minute with a confused look on his face and jumped when she appeared in front of him again with two bright red apples in her hand. Ru handed him one as she said excitedly, "there are apple, pear and peach trees in the front garden. I had to do the same thing to them, but these apples should be alright." Jiraiya nodded and took it from her.

"You did good kid, I'm proud of you. It took half the time it did the last time you tried and it tastes really good and fresh." He said proudly as he took a bite. "I've been here before so I know where things are so you see those paths over there?" He pointed to emphasise his point and continued when she nodded. "The first one and fourth ones lead to training grounds kitted out with all the latest equipment and the first one even has archery equipment. The second path leads to a training lake with a waterfall, also for training and the third path leads to the Namikaze personal hot spring." Jiraiya finished and Naruto nodded paying avid attention to her father. Jiraiya sighed tiredly, "Look Naruto we need to talk, so sit." He gestured to the deck and sat down on the edge of it with his feet dangling. Naruto sat down next to him with a frown on her face. "What's wrong tou-san?"

"Nothing's wrong exactly, but we do need to talk. You know that this is the village where Kurama attacked right? Well they also hate demons."

"Of course I know that tou-san, but I also know the whole story and so do you. Plus the only people who died that day were mama and papa. Rama didn't have a choice, that demon man controlled him and forced him to attack. Why do they hate demons anyway?"

I know Ru, but it's just how it is. They hate them because they are so prejudiced and stuck in the old ways that they can't see that not all demons are evil. Look anyway that's not what we need to talk about. This place regards you as a hero…however they still hate Kurama. There is also a man named Danzou that you need to watch out for. He wants to turn you into his weapon as he believes that with you on his side he can overturn the Hokage so that he can take the position and then he believes he can use you to win war after war against other countries to gain power for him. This will never happen Ru; I won't let anyone do that to you EVER!" Naruto put her hand on his arm and smiled at him. "Its ok tou-san I understand, Rama said the same thing, I will just have to be careful how much of my power I let anyone see. I can do this tou-san, please trust me."

"I do trust you Naruto you know that. It's just my paternal instincts. Just please be careful okay? Oh yeah I also forgot. Your grandfather asked me to give you this, just in case you need to do anything as the Flying Red Dove while we are here in Konoha. We both think this is a good idea considering you now have to worry about Danzou as well." Jiraiya handed her a bright red scroll from his pocket. She took it and laid it on the deck to unseal it. It flashed and a white mask with a painted red dove across it appeared. She ran her hand across it and then resealed it. She put it in a pocket in her cloak and hugged Jiraiya. "Thanks tou-san, it's great." She said with a bright smile. Jiraiya ruffled her hair and laughed. "Do you think we'd annoy Shizune an awful lot if we decided to go and find a ramen stand before she cooks dinner?" Naruto laughed and shook her head before jumping up with a cheeky grin. "Let's go old man!" She cheered before running away giggling with Jiraiya in hot pursuit. "I AM NOT AN OLD MAN!" He yelled angrily as he chased her around the house to the gate.

**A/N So there is chapter 5 I hope it was worth reading. I'm sorry about the long description of the house, but it was necessary to describe what it is like. Anyway sorry about the long wait again I had to decide exactly how I wanted the house to be. Hopefully the next chapter will be up faster, but I make no promises =D I will try and make it worth the wait though. So please review and tell me what you think, I like CONSTRUCTIVE criticism not people slagging me off, there is a fine line in between them =). Anyways I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Till the next time people.**

**This is HighFlyer0603 over and out.**

**Ja ne =D**


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